Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Jump To:
  • silver plate
    silver plate
    noun
    silver tableware.
  • silver-plate
    silver-plate
    verb (used with object)
    to coat (base metal) with silver, especially by electroplating.

silver plate

1 American  

noun

  1. silver tableware.

  2. a coating of silver, especially one electroplated on base metal.


silver-plate 2 American  
[sil-ver-pleyt] / ˈsɪl vərˈpleɪt /

verb (used with object)

silver-plates, present (3rd person singular) silver-plated, past participle, past silver-plating present participle
  1. to coat (base metal) with silver, especially by electroplating.


silver plate British  

noun

  1. a thin layer of silver deposited on a base metal

  2. articles, esp tableware, made of silver plate

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) to coat (a metal, object, etc) with silver, as by electroplating

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of silver plate

First recorded in 1520–30

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Other items being sold include a silver plate looted from Napoleon's carriage after his 1815 defeat at Waterloo and a wooden vanity case he owned, with razors, a silver toothbrush, scissors and other belongings.

From BBC Nov. 18, 2023

Pujols and Molina were given gifts from the team, including a set of golf clubs, a silver plate and one-of-a-kind artist drawings of each player.

From Seattle Times Oct. 2, 2022

During arti, you stood in front of the gods and offered them light, clutching a silver plate holding ghee-drenched cotton ball flames and marigolds.

From Salon Jul. 16, 2022

That would make the silver plate a pretty specific allegory for the Eastern Roman emperor as God’s designated champion on earth, like David, the victorious underdog in the struggle against the Philistine giant.

From Los Angeles Times May 27, 2022

At the far end, next to a tall window, was a small table with a teapot, cups, and a silver plate of cookies.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

There would be mismatched antique silver-plate utensils in the kitchen drawers, and the beds would be dressed in neutral-color linens from West Elm and Pine Cone Hill.

From New York Times Oct. 1, 2016

Patinated brass handles give Nalata Nalata’s Ihada silver-plate flatware a graceful antique look; $230 for a five-piece set.

From Architectural Digest Dec. 5, 2014

Which explains how the Mayfair peeress who asked me for cocktails one day has a villa packed with Vieux Paris silver-plate and Louis XVI armchairs covered in needlepoint scenes from La Fontaine’s “Fables.”

From New York Times May 20, 2011

The catalogue promised nifty bargains to customers who made a $7.50 purchase�for example, a 26-piece silver-plate tableware set for $4.99.

From Time Magazine Archive

They said there’d been two white twins from America riding ’round Chatham on two white stallions whilst toting two of the fanciest pearl-handle, silver-plate pistols just like the one the Preacher said he found.

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis

Tell me of all the riches and jewels—the gold and silver-plates you eat from, the jewelry you have to wear, the rich silks—all of it!

From Ruth Fielding and the Gypsies The Missing Pearl Necklace by Emerson, Alice B.

Items that are silver-plated can sometimes be marked as well, although their value is generally have much lower.

From MarketWatch Dec. 31, 2025

They are mostly silver-plated tableware, menorahs and glass containers for cosmetics, according to the regional office for the preservation of historic objects.

From Seattle Times Jan. 8, 2023

He finished with modern glassware and Elsie Green’s overdyed napkin, as well as vintage silver-plated flatware and a red Bakelite knife.

From Washington Post Dec. 14, 2022

Alex & Ani’s expandable wire matte gold or silver-plated bangles were inspired by Orange County’s ocean and palm trees and, in the distance, the Santa Ana Mountains.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 8, 2020

The starter’s silver-plated gong rang, a sprocket turned, a valve opened, and the engine whooshed to life on exquisitely machined shafts and bearings.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

So in Nashville, Biochemist Paul F. Hahn is trying to fool the body by silver-plating his radio-gold.

From Time Magazine Archive

The art of silver-plating was invented at Sheffield by Thomas Bolsover, an ingenious mechanic, in the latter half of the eighteenth century, and extensively applied by Mr. Joseph Hancock. 

From Rides on Railways by Sidney, Samuel

For silver-plating the solution consists of the double cyanide of silver and potash, and may be used either hot or cold.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 2: Ebert to Estremadura by Various

There's some fine engraving on the silver-plating, noble sentiment, deftly expressed, and done in the engraver's best style.

From Quiet Talks on John's Gospel by Gordon, S. D. (Samuel Dickey)

Later they began to do the same thing with silver, silver-plating especially the ornaments of horses and carriages.

From Characters and events of Roman History by Ferrero, Frances Lance

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training